We had an old water heater that needed to be replaced, yet we milked it for all it was worth and kept that thing going. We built this house sixteen years ago and it was the original water heater. Not too bad if you were a family of two or four. But our family of six have taken hundreds of showers, washed millions of loads of clothes and well, you know, the same goes for the amount of dishes washed. But we hung on.
Buying time you might call it. Lots of time. Like a few extra years. There were several occasions where we would get ready to take a shower and then realize there wasn't any hot water. Let's just say Josh still lived at home when it began. Yep, the past few years, there were many times spent running down two flights of stairs to the utility room, shutting off the switch, waiting a few seconds and then turning it back on. And well-ah, we would again soon have hot water.
The past several months John kept telling me, "I am going to be getting a new hot water heater," in which I would respond under my breath, "Well, its probably about time!" I am extremely patient in that department. There are a few things that would drive another person crazy and I just live with it. Nothing earth shattering. In this life of busyness, the squeaky wheel gets the oil...or something like that.
John came home with it last Wednesday and spent all day installing it. Its one of those hi-tech jobs. "Hot water on demand," it claims. Its a lot smaller, which means it doesn't take up as much room in the utility room. Supposed to be an energy saver as well.
Now before I go any further, I must admit something.
My brain is not what it used to be. I'm not quite as sharp as I once was. I could go into lots of explanation, but I'll save you the misery. Just go with it.
Thursday afternoon, as I'm doing dishes, I begin hearing it. Sounded like excavating going on a house or two away. I think to myself, "I wonder who is having something done." I mentally try to picture what they could possibly getting done to their yard. Nothing comes to mind and I brush it off.
Friday morning, I'm at the kitchen sink, rinsing out my coffee cup and I hear it again. And this time I think to myself, "Wow, it seems a little early for them to be getting started on that excavating," and then quickly dismiss it and carry on with my day.
This happened over and over for days. Me standing at the kitchen sink, running water, hearing the excavators. Really had me curious.
Then it dawned on me.
I stood at the sink yesterday and turned on the water. I immediately shut it off. And I heard it. And then began trying to make sense of what I was hearing, "there is NO way that every time I run the water, they get started on excavating. Every single time." I turn it back on. Turn it off. The sound appears again.
Ah-ha! Mystery solved. Its the darn new apparatus we now have almost directly below the kitchen, in the utility room. When I told John of what I had thought the noise was coming from, he laughed and explained that its the water flow doo-hickey thing. Yeah, whatever. All I know is that it makes a noise we did not have before. I simply could not ask him to un-install it and take it back. The excavator (which is now in my basement) is here to stay.
Fast forward to tonight. I'm loading the dishwasher, running hot water of course, and Rachel is in the kitchen talking to me. As soon as the noise starts up, she asks, "Who is pulling up in the driveway."
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